A. Field Of The Invention
This invention relates primarily to a bathing fixture which is especially suited to those people who have a difficult time entering and exiting from a standard type bathtub facility. More particularly, it relates to a chair type apparatus which has water outlets for directing water onto a person while the person is seated in the chair as well as a movable foot portion to collect and deliver the waste water to a drain.
B. Description Of The Art
As is well recognized, it is extremely difficult for many older or handicapped people to have access to bathing facilities such as a bathtub. Some shower facilities are now available wherein a person in a wheelchair can be conveyed inside the shower stall and then moved from the wheelchair onto a seat in the shower. This requires a greater than necessary amount of space, and leaves cleaning the feet still difficult for some persons.
As to bathtubs, there is the additional problem of the person being lowered to almost floor level and then having to be raised again. While there are seat type units which are hydraulically actuated for lowering and raising a person out of a bathtub, these require a connection to a water faucet and also require the person to be moved over the edge of the bathtub. Movable door configurations on such tubs have been tried, but often present sealing problems or cost problems. Thus, it can be seen that a need exists for an improved type of bathing fixture which is readily useable by older and handicapped people, and which takes up only the minimum space needed.